I think I’m a fan of Google’s Instant Search. Rather than having to hit “enter” or click the “search” button, the search results automatically refresh as I type. It’s quirky sometimes, because I’ll see some search results that look accurate as I’v only typed in a couple letters, and if I’m typing too fast, it passes me by and it’s not always easy to back up to to those previous results. So, for the most part, I like it.

Google just introduced Instant Preview, which displays a screenshot of each search result, while highlighting the relevant part of the page that qualified it as a search result. Convenient for skimming, and could lead to some interesting hacks that websites implement to generate some catchy screenshots that may or may not look the same when you actually click the link.

Is it silly that Microsoft spends so much time and money chasing the goal of preventing their hardware (and/or software) from being hacked? If you build it, someone will hack it. It’s pretty much a fact this day and age. I think it’s time to embrace it. As a matter of fact, wouldn’t this HELP push the product? More people will buy it because you can do much more with it than with the limited functionality that is shipped with the product!

With all the controversy over voting fraud, it’s great to see that people are consistently trying hard to come up with way to help voting systems become more reliable and trustworthy. David Bismark gave great (short) talk about a new kind of ballot that seems very logical and useful. You can walk away with a “receipt” that lets you verify your vote was counted.

Paul Graham wrote about the ideas that preoccupy our minds. He has observed that we will typically focus on an idea that we always think about. For entrepreneurs, it will be your product or business, and how to continually improve it, market it, and sell it. The problem that arises is when we are distracted from this one main idea we have on our minds. His example is raising money for your business. Businesses that start to raise money tend to slow down progress in developing their products. This is because raising money becomes the main idea.

I completely agree with this. I will obsess over my latest idea and get irritated when I’m distracted by other things I have to dedicate a lot of time to. The point that Paul makes about being distracted is a good one though. Being distracted from your main idea gives your mind a moment to breathe. Solutions to problems or road blocks you may have run into tend to come out of thin air when you are NOT consciously thinking about your main idea.

I came across this article that catalogs 9 extraordinary human abilities. I, like probably many people, feel like I can relate to some of the abilities to a degree, but don’t think I have nearly the capabilities described.

Based on the foods they describe as affecting the “supertasters”, those are some that stand out for me. The description of “synesthesia” also rings true when they talk about “special-sequence synesthesia… where dates have a precise location in space”. I visualize dates and places and things in something like a 3D space. Sometimes like plotting on a graph, where my perspective viewing the graph is anchored at one spot and I can view up and down an axis. Sometimes it’s less exact and more of a feeling about where things are… reference points. I don’t know if that’s what they describe or not.

I wonder how often people realize they have capabilities that the majority of the people around them don’t have. To me, miscommunication or frustration when people don’t “get it” seems to be an indicator that you might have better capabilities than others in certain areas. But on the other hand, maybe it’s just bad communication skills!

I’d like to meet more people with some of these fascinating abilities!

Came across Ron Mueck and his sculptures through a little random artist community I fell into and get mailings from once in a while. Ron’s sculptures have been around for quite a while, and I would LOVE to check out one of his exhibits sometime. The sculptures look amazingly realistic. Like human figures, either gigantically large or smaller than normal. It looks like a spectacle and hard to believe your eyes. Just searching for images of his sculptures will give you a good idea of what his creations consist of. Can’t get enough of it!

I love sports cars. I love film making. What’s better than a little bit of both mixed together?!

Porsche has put together a really cool looking commercial to introduce the new Panamera sports car to the family. They call it “the first true sports car for four”. My buddy SPR sent me to an article about the behind-the-scenes of making the commercial. They had 50 generations of Porsches, helicopters, high speed racing through the desert, and a bunch more adrenaline and eye candy.

Because David Allen is a “procrastinator”, we’ve had the privilege of seeing the results of his research into “how to get from here to there easier”. He’s always been about improving process, and I’ve found that that has become a priority in my life as well, figuring out how to improve the processes in my life.

I’ve started reading Getting Things Done, but never finished it. I also have procrastinated in reorganizing my life to follow his principles. But I’m also at a turning point in my life where I do want to purge all the things in my head and write them down somewhere so that I don’t think about them all the time.

Get a little insight into David Allen’s process with this very informative little video. It’s actually 30 minutes, but watch a couple minutes. It may help.

I came across a short clip of Steve Wozniak at Fast Company talking about how intelligent computers are getting and how much they can teach and influence from an early age these days. But there are still strides to take in getting computers to fully interact with and understand humans and the aspects of our environment and lives that are interpreted through sensory perception and experience in life.

This clip is nothing mind-blowing and doesn’t talk about anything specific. It just reflects on where the internet and computers have brought us and poses the question of how long will it be before computers can really interact with humans and fully understand its surroundings.

There’s been a little “drama” surrounding NBC’s decision to shuffle around their late-night programming. Apparently they want Conan O’Brien to move to 12:05 AM with “The Tonight Show”, in order to move Jay Leno back to the 11:35 PM time slot. It’s unsure what the motivation behind NBC’s changes is, but many fans are up in arms!Continue reading →